Welcome to Los Santos, Please Insert Disc #4

GTA5Cheats investigates whether the above message is a possibility for Xbox 360 owners of GTA V and looks at some of the potential solutions given the limited data capacity of DVD9 discs.
(Grand Theft Auto V, Xbox 360)

@WuketThat's because the capacity at that time (usually for FMV sequences) were needed. With the standard blu-ray such issues were immediately abated. If the DVD was available on the PSX era, I doubt anybody would have this argument.

@busytoadNo, the Blu-Ray Disc Association is the developer and licensor of Blu-Ray technology. The BDA is a consortium of several different companies. Granted, Sony is a part of the BDA, but they are not the sole controlling party.

Nah I get that they didn't want to switch to Blu-ray because of Sony. Though they're kind of backed into a corner now. They pretty much have to go with Blu-ray at this point. They tried HD DVDs and that didn't work out. Trying to have a new format just won't do now.

hd-dvd didnt work for moviesbut as a data format it could be beneficial for MS. think about it...if Ms went with the hddvd for games it would satisfy two things. a higher capacity format for developers and a format that isnt common enough to have to worry about piracy.

HDDVD failed as a movie format but it is still a viable data format due to its capacity and use of the same blue laser as bluray. And technically it isnt a new format.

Even if they took that path (which I always assumed they already did) they would still be short on space. Assuming game files get bigger next gen it would continue to be a problem. Blu ray stores between 25-50gb and hddvd maxes out at 30. 30gb is plentyyy this gen but I imagine that changes next gen with better physics, AI, textures ect.

Also a selling point for the ps3 was that it was the cheapest blu ray player when it came out. Prices have dropped a lot but it would certainly still add value to the next xbox

So what? As if Sony doesn't do the same thing. Walk into a Sony store at your mall or in the city and what will see everywhere on their laptops? Windows 8 if it means getting your customers the best possible expirence company's will bite the bullet, and I'm sure Microsoft will do the same or be bashed for having a next gen console that needs 4 discs to run one game.

Microsoft supports digital versions of all of R-Star's games. I might wait a few months extra for a 1080p 60 fps collection next gen. that is if backwards compatibly isn't announced by the next 2 weeks.

I really don't know much about all this so sorry if I'm wrong but if its dual sided they still need to switch discs so it's essentially the same as having two discs. Thus it has 30gb valuable to the player. More than that and they have to change disc still even if that only means flipping the disc. Dunno if I'm right on that or if they can put in a reader on both sides of the disc somehow

@SoundGamer Someone who actually has a clue. People act like MS won't use Blu-Ray because Sony helped make it. Look at Sony Viao laptops they all use Windows, and guess what Sony pays MS to put Windows on that laptop.

@darthv72 You're completely right. And the fact is that HD DVD didn't really "Lose", they were out spent by the blu ray disc association when they went to warner and bought their exclusivity for $500 million.

BUT, the fact is that BD AND any other format on the market now is already obsolete. The 6tb Holographic Versatile Disc ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... has been around for over 5 years but no one is developing it for mass production for some reason. Probably because streaming and Digital distribution will kill physical media before a new format can gain a foothold. but it is what it is. LOL

I think going BD would be the simplest solution. If Microsoft wants a 1 box solution as it will also play BD movies.

However, the dual sided thing gives another option. If they could design the Nextbox to read from both sides simultaneously then they could essentially double the read speed of the disks negating the need to install data to the HDD.

This would be cool also if Sony did this for the PS4 as that seems to be a limiting factor.

@travel guy, not having a bluray drave at all is more likely than not having an hdd, MS wants to sell games online(because you don't have to pay to produce the disks/manual s etc and also MS becames the publisher so they make even more money. Also theres dlc too. Anyway MS may still go with dvd and stick everything on the hdd like a pc or maybe even its own version of bluray for piracy reasons and I

Have us humans gotten so lazy to where it's now soooo difficult to swap a disc? Gee wizz I remember the 4 disc Final Fantasy games. There's always something to argue about on this site I swear. If it was all on one disc, we'd have articles like "One Disc? Are they leaving out features for GTA5"?

Switching discs in a game like an RPG is one thing, where disc swapping can happen between levels. Swapping when it actually interrupts your gameplay in an open world, that's different. That really will crap on the experience, as you'll feel limited to the city you're in rather than feel like you have the ability to roam freely. kinda kills the whole sandbox vibe.

Imagine going to airport in los santos flying to another area * insert disc 3 * , then when you arrive realize you need to go back ... Im sure the map wouldnt work like that but still horrifying thought

If anything they would just split the story dialog and event scripting between discs, and have the entire world map on each disc. The problem with that is that you require a lot more space on each disc, meaning you could be looking at 3+ discs instead of just two, depending on the size of the game.

The story dialogue really doesn't have that large of a memory footprint though. You can compress MP3 stream to remain at near-CD quality and still only take up about 1MB per minute of audio. We're not talking about thousands of minutes of audio being used for storyline parts. It's all the textures that make up that open world that would have trouble fitting onto the disc. GTA has never really used FMV, opting for in-game cinematics instead, so that isn't an issue.

The scripting is just a bunch of animations, which take up even less room on disc than the audio does. That all runs off the euphoria middleware, probably along with some mocap data. I just don't see that adding up to enough to warrant being put on an extra disc.

I really don't think trimming the storyline audio and scripting to be on different discs while keeping the entire world map on one disc is going to free up enough space to do what they need to do. There's 2 most likely scenarios in my head right now.

1: They simply design the game world to be small enough to fit on one disc, and put extra content like multiplayer, maybe certain vehicles, and areas that you are not allowed to freely fly to at any time on the other disc(s).

2: They chop up the entire game world onto multiple discs and require a HDD install to play the game.

Sony does not own the patent for blu-ray, Blu-ray tech is controlled by the Blu-ray Disc Association which includes Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, and Samsung.

MS can just will just end up going through one of the other companies. But yes they will have to pay a licensing fee to the Association which Sony is a part of.

Sony can not say "NOPE SORRY MS, NO BLU-RAY for you" MS just has to get the tech from LG, Samsung ETC

@Sonic200Part of that large file size is also due to the fact that BD games do not need to be compressed, which speeds up loading time. Unfortunately this is offset by the fact that it takes longer to load from a blu-ray disc. It also allows the developer to store multiple languages on the disc so they don't have to press several configurations before shipping worldwide. Not saying that PS3 exclusive games aren't actually larger in size, just that it's not always about content.

Correct. Any game up to 3 discs there is no extra charge. Once you have to use 4 discs MS charges a fee, its why you see devs trying to get the games down to 3 discs with heavy compression (FFXIII, L.A Noire, etc....)

I have faith in Rockstar Games, I feel they were very honest with telling people why the game was limited and hindered.

I feel the only way they could make the largest GTA was if they struck a deal with Microsoft. Microsoft System is what caused the limitedness of GTA 4;, it would clearly mean that only a change by Microsoft Word fix the game.

This is the laughable and weirdest thing about 360, it's limited storage medium capacity, the mystical DVD9!.

They even laughing at sony at the first place when they found out that PS3 will have bluray drive.. They thought that it was too much for a console and it is not necessary. Look at the games today, it getting larger and larger yearly.

Tbh, that is something I'm curious about as well, especially in an open world game such as GTA and as we've heard from the live-demo that was shown to the press you can switch between each character pretty much whenever you want (probably if you're not on a mission) and they can be on the exact opposite side of the map.

So even though I have a PS3 and I'm also hoping for a PS4 version of the game, I'd like to know how they are going to manage this huge amount of data to fit on a single DVD if they do not want to piss off 360 gamers and kind of ruin (their idea of) an open world experience.

I rarely post comments, but when I do it is to point out the flaws in your arguments.

I'm sorry, but all these 360 guys trying to defend the fact the game may come on 5 or 6 discs as a good thing. No, I'm sure while flying over the map and then receiving a pop up to insert next disc will be a lovely experience for you, and then another to go to multiplayer and then another to get the next missions, while ps3 owners can enjoy a seamless experience uninterrupted by any downtime while switching discs. I know which one I'd prefer and those who say otherwise are just scraping everything they can to defend their precious Xbox. Enjoy your game :)

I'm not "bashing" the Dualshock. I don't like it, but if you do, that's great. I'm just voicing my opinion, and making a little joke. ;)

And you can bash on Live all you want, you aren't going to hurt my feelings.

I belong to PS+ as well, and the two services aren't really comparable, honestly. PS+ is basically a rental service with some discounts.

I don't get any use out of it, honestly, because I already own all the games I want on 360. I'm the rare type of gamer that buys all my games, and I don't trade anything in. I probably have upwards of 100 360 games in my closet at home, and nearly all of them were bought on launch day. So PS+ has been a waste for me. Note that I said "FOR ME", before I get attacked for this. I realize it's a fantastic deal for most people.

Xbox LIVE on the other hand is an online service. I get that you think you shouldn't have to pay for that, but I've been a member of Xbox Live since midnight on launch day, 11/15/2002 on the original Xbox. And I've never once felt like I wasn't getting my money's worth. I've played online on PSN, and frankly, it's just not up to the bar that Xbox Live has set for how a console online service should work. Again, that's just my opinion, so please don't take offense and flame me too hard for it.

We're all gamers, and everyone has their own preferences. I see the pros and cons to both sides, and I don't forsee a time where I ever just own one system. I like having access to everything.

Is this really news. Its been over 7 years since 360 first appear and the PS fanboys still bumping their chest over their superior Blu-ray storage drive? How many freaking games require disc swapping on xbox 360 all these 7 years? Also, the xbox 360 allowing games to be store on the harddrive makes this a non issue. If GTA5 is 4 discs, so freaking what? Just install all the discs on the HD and problem solve.

Another reason that will be in MS favor that no one has thought about is the possibility of them getting GTA5 exclusively on next Gen consoles if the rumored BC with X360 are true. That will allowed Rockstar to release the game on launch day with the Next Box with some higher textures and resolution support, comparable to the PC version, on a single Blu-Ray disc and bamn!, MS will sell tons of new next box consoles with a launch lineup of GTA5, COD Ghost with exclusive content, Battlefield 4 with exclusive EA partnership exclusive contents, Respawn's new exclusive AAA game, Forza 5/PGR6, Killer Instinct, Ryse, and maybe even Alan Wake. That will be the best launching lineup ever!

If it's only a backward compatible game that means it's only slightly better looking that the ones on PS3/360 which means it wont be such an advantage to have in the next gen race. and I believe the reason why this is being brought up is two fold, one that its just such a high number of disc swaps (which Rockstar is using to tell its customer's "look how big my game is, I couldn't fit it on this many discs!") and second, because the rumors are that MS will not adopt Bluray for the 720 and that has implications for gamers.

Sony dont want xbox out of business ans neither do xbox want sony out of business, because they want COMPETITION and withought COMPETITION then they would fail... no need to explain why, but its because competetion makes the rivals do better games or products ! So i think thats why microsoft will buy bluray disc and they both work with eachother sometimes!

unfortunately I dont think it works that way. I believe both of them would want the other out of business. For the gamers, its a different story. Say, if Sony was to go out of business, innovation would come to a halt. Don't want to sound like MS is a bad company, but their track record shows that they only innovate when they have to, and this is evident across all of their products (Im talking to you Windows). That would be bad for gamers of all tasts without a doubt. Xbox fans would come to rue the day they wished Sony out of the game and vice versa. The only reason that you maybe right about them not wanting the other out, that I can think of, is if the two companies are able to see way past potential profits into even more long term consequences for their own company. The two gaming giants are sort of synonymous with gaming (especially PS) should one of them go out of business the other will get double profits for a time. Except there will be, in my opinion, a sort of resentment towards the remaining company for having destroyed the other. Either way, as a gamer I hope both companies can co-exist and compete even though I consider myself a Playstation fan I still want xbox to offer good things.

@sway_z I find it even funnier how a certain group of fans completely blows this "issue" out of proportion. A 10 second disc swap during a 30 hour story does not affect my experience to any measurable degree. In fact, it's such a nonissue that the only time I ever see it discussed is when someone starts a fanboy war over it. There are a hundred other issues I would be concerned about before the number of discs the game comes on.

Stinks for us Xbox owners, but I like to talk to friends who might not be playing this game at the time. Cross Game Chat is a must for me and I hate the ps3 controller so I have no choice but to go 360.

Brilliant Idea! And then someday when that content is no longer supported, you will lose it all. Or do you think that all the digitally distributed games you buy today will still be accessible 10, 15, or 20 years down the road? Or god forbid you get rid of your console and lose all that money you spent on games that you cant trade, sell, or even give away when you're done.

Give me physical media every time. I like to own something for the dollars I spend.

My PS3 is my only BluRay player, didn't see the need for a stand alone when I already had a Bluray in the PS3. I'm not sure what you mean by drive speed though, they don't have to get the one in the PS3, they can get a newer one, I'm sure PS4 will have an updated one for sure. Beside, I mean how long does it take to load? like 5 seconds? You don't play your PS3 blueray because it takes 5 seconds to load the movie?

Like many people here,I've been swapping discs since the days of PSOne. Recently,it was the Mass Effect series on the 360. Anyway,I'm not going to buy the 360 version of GTA V,since most of my friends primarily play on the PS3 like myself. The next Xbox definitely cannot do without Blu-Ray.

LOL, I love how passionately people rage against the 360 because owners may have to swap a disc here and there.

Does anyone here remember how much the PS1 version of RE2 sucked compared to the N64 version because you had to swap discs? Of course you don't. Because it didn't matter. LOL a big chunk of my PS1 collection is made up of multi disc games. I didn't care then and I still don't.